A Second Chance
by VioletBalance
Summary: During a trip into the woods looking for Sophia, Daryl stumbles across someone from his past. Someone who makes him recall memories of a small town in Georgia, a little trailer park and friendships ended by a nasty family feud. Is this a second chance?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So this is a story I came up with and is also my first shot at writing… Reviews would be excellent as writing is not exactly my strong point and it would be awesome to know how y'all like my little piece so far. Also, feel free to let me know what needs improving, always looking for feedback. Also, I do not own anything except my character Leah. Enjoy :)**

Three months she had been surviving. Three whole damn months with scarce amounts of food and unreliable sources of water boiled over the meager fires she allowed herself. Three months 'surviving', if it could even be called that. Leah Mason is a survivor, always has been. But this, this was dying. This was slow, agonizing death. How much longer did she expect to last? She would hold out as long as possible, this she knew for sure. There is no giving up… But sooner or later death would be inevitable. Dehydration was an understatement, a thing of the past. Hunger didn't even begin to describe it, starvation was closest. Sure she could hunt and she sure as hell ain't defenseless; Leah Mason is a girl of the south, easy on the eyes, hell with a weapon. But she is also definitely not stupid… Without some sort of reprieve sooner or later, she would be doomed, because for the last three months, living, breathing humans were scarce and Leah Mason was sure as hell not the only thing hunting in the woods.

She couldn't say how long exactly she had been wandering around these particular woods, but she knew it was necessary. Easier source of fresh food, even if it was squirrel mostly, and easier protection from the biters as it was a less populated area. She didn't mind however, the woods were nothing new to her, hell she had practically spent her childhood in them what with her temperamental drunk of a daddy and lack of supervision. Nightfall was approaching and Leah knew she would need to sleep soon, she was exhausted and she needed to find some sort of coverage as it wasn't safe to sleep out in the open anymore. She stopped and set her pack down and pulled out one of her water bottles from her dwindling supply, "dammit" she muttered as she realized she would also need to find water pretty soon. She took a long drink and surveyed her options. Lately, she had taken to sleeping in trees as the woods she currently inhabited had numerous amounts of thick and sturdy ones. When she found a decent one she began her ascent into the protection of the foliage. Finally settled onto a branch she opened her pack and with a rope secured herself to the tree and closed her eyes, ignoring the roughness of the tree pressing into her back and finally relaxing her weakened body.  
**TWD-**

The Georgia heat was fierce, even during the night, and Daryl reckoned this was the hottest summer he could remember. However, the heat was the least of the small group of survivors' worries. Between the stress of being out in the open and already been discovered by a herd of roaming Walkers, and the sudden disappearance of the little girl Sophia, Daryl was beyond anxious. He would never show it though; Daryl was the typical redneck ray of sunshine, hardened by years of cruelty and rough around the edges. He was anxious though and that could mostly be contributed to the fact that he was inside laying on the floor of the little RV 'resting' instead of out looking for the girl. If there was one thing Daryl Dixon could not stand it was the thought of children being abandoned, hell he had been through it himself and he hated the way it left a person. He couldn't just lay around and do nothing, that little girl was out there alone and scared, her mother left terrified and as Daryl listened to her quiet sniffling, he knew any hope of 'resting' was lost.

"I'm going ta look for the girl" he said to the blonde fiddling with the gun at the table, who immediately asked to go with. Daryl grumbled in response and left the RV, Andrea trailing behind. With a quick explanation to Dale who occupied watch duty the two took off over the railing and into the thick woods. "You really think we're gonna find Sophia?" Andreas asked. Daryl looked over and scoffed "got that look on yer face, same as everybody else… Hell's wrong with you people? Just started lookin'".

"Do you?" She asked irritated.

"Ain't the mountains of Tibet it's Georgia, she could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere… People get lost and survive, happens all the time".

"She's only twelve" she said quietly.

"Hell I was younger than her when I got lost, nine days in the woods eatin' berries, wipin' my ass with poison oak. Old man was on a bender with some waitress, Merle was doin' another stint in juvy didn't even know I was gone." He took a glance at Andrea and noticed her perturbed expression and continued "made my way back though, didn't even know I was gone. Went straight to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear, 'cept my ass itched something' awful."

At this Andrea started laughing earning a smirk from Daryl "I'm sorry but that is a terrible story".

"Only difference is, Sophia's got people lookin' for her, I call that an advantage." They left it at that and continued walking, Daryl shining his flashlight around hoping to give Sophia something to look at and Andrea lost in her thoughts. Roughly five minutes had passed when Daryl noticed something odd about the ground and stopping Andrea and squatting down slightly "tracks" he muttered "recent too".

"Sophia?" Andrea asked hope seeping into her voice.

"Nah, footprints too big" He told her, a little discouraged himself. "May be a walker, come one we'll see what we can find, only one set of tracks anyways nothin' we can't handle". They continued on Andrea trailing slightly behind Daryl as he followed the tracks. It wasn't too much farther when Daryl stopped again. "They're gone" he told her "just stopped-" He was cut off by a fearful Andrea.

"Daryl, look up".

**Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger ;) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone :) here is the next chapter for y'all. Reviews would be excellent, as well as any constructive criticism as this is my first ever story. :P Anyways, hope you enjoy, and I do not own the Walking Dead... or Daryl Dixon. :(**

"Well it ain't Sophia" He said as he and Andrea surveyed the sleeping person in the tree "I say we keep movin'" Andrea looked shocked and appalled all at once.

"We can't just leave them here" she said rather indignantly.

"Ain't nothin' but another mouth to feed, besides we don't know who they are, could be dangerous" he argued.

Andrea pressed on "what if they've seen Sophia, we can't just do that Daryl". A few seconds ensued of glaring between Andrea and the hunter when a rustling could be heard a few feet away from a thick clump of trees. "Shit" Daryl muttered "walkers".

**TWD~~**

Leah closed her eyes and willed her body to sleep, just for a few moments at least. But dehydration coupled with the exhaustion from hours of walking aimlessly through the dense forest forced Leah to fall into a much deeper sleep than intended for a night spent in a hard tree. And a few hours later Leah awoke to odd sounds coming from below her "Shit Leah, why you gotta be so stupid?" she berated herself for falling asleep and being caught unawares, if she died tonight it would be her own damn fault. She quickly untied the rope that secured her to the side of the tree and was met with a peculiar and unexpected sight from below. At least four biters from what she could make out were just below her, what was strange was that there appeared to be two live people, a woman with a pistol and a man wielding a crossbow. Leah made the decision to stay put and watch as the two quickly dispatched the walkers below. She watched as the man with the crossbow shot a bolt through the first biter and reloaded, while the blonde woman (from what she could tell by the dropped flashlight) quickly took out a second one with the butt end of her pistol and stomped a heavy boot through the head of the undead. During the period it took for the blonde woman to kill one beast, the rough man with the crossbow skillfully dispatched the other two. Leah continued watching as the two caught their breath from the situation they found themselves in and noticed what the two strangers could not, a fifth biter appeared seemingly out of nowhere and crept up behind the blond. Leah withdrew one of the knives from her pack and lined up her throw, fearing for the other woman's life.

While reeling from the attack of more walkers Daryl and Andrea took a moment to grasp their situation fully. Their moment of rest was quickly ended by the sound of something flying through the air and a walker fell to the ground, a knife sticking out of its grotesque skull. Looking up Daryl smirked as he noticed the previously sleeping person crouched low on the branch. Andrea looked as if she was about to faint, the close call seemed to be too much for her as she could have easily been walker chow.

"How 'bout you come down here lady" Daryl called pointing at the woman now distinguishable by the retrieved flashlight.

It was clear the woman was not about to come down from the tree at all Daryl figured. His thoughts were confirmed when finally she spoke in her southern accent "how's about I don't and y'all just leave. Can't trust nobody these days anyhow".

"See we can't do that, like ya said, can't trust nobody and we got camp not too far from here" He responded in his own southern drawl.

Andrea spoke then in a rush of words "you haven't by any chance seen a young girl passing through have you? We lost her up by the highway, was chased into these god forsaken woods by a few walkers".

"A little girl?" This peaked Leah's interest. It was one thing to be in woods without any experience, but a little girl in the middle of a forest during the reanimation of the dead? Oh she was pissed. "How the hell did you manage to lose a little girl?"

"Wasn't anybody's fault really" the woman said looking guilty "we were ambushed by an entire herd of those things back on the highway and were forced to take cover, the little girl was discovered and we weren't able to get to her in time".

Leah's heart was breaking for the young girl and a determination struck her. Be damned if she didn't help look for that little girl, she was sure it would get her killed but it was likely she would die anyways, may as well make it worth it. "Alright I'm gonna come down now, so help you god if you try to kill me".

Daryl smirked as he watched her descend with a skill he could relate to; maybe she'd be useful after all. The woman warily approached them, a black pack slung over her shoulder and a gun in the waistband of her pants. Daryl gave her a once over and noticed the woman was roughly his age, much shorter however with a head of long and tangled dark blonde hair, Daryl couldn't put a finger on what it was but something about her was awfully familiar. Unbeknownst to Daryl the stranger was examining him as well as the blonde woman next to him seemed harmless enough. The first thing she took in was that he was wearing a shirt with the sleeves clearly having been ripped off; the second thing she took in was his dark blonde almost brown unkempt hair. The third and most startling thing she took in was his clear blue eyes shining from the light of the flashlight. Her jaw practically dropped, she'd know those fuckin' eyes from anywhere, hell she grew up with them. Damn it all to hell she thought, 'world ends and who do I bump into?'

"Daryl?" she gasped. Andrea's head whipped towards the other woman shock evident on not only her face but Daryl's as well.

"Ya, who the hell are yew?" he asked eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Holy hell you don't recognize me?" she laughed "Leah Mason? We used to be god damn best friends from what I recall. Until… Well you know".

Daryl's eyes widened in shock as he took a step forward and shone the light more clearly on her face. Holy shit, no wonder she seemed familiar. "Holy fuck girl, that really is yew. Never thought I'd see the likes of ya again" he smirked.

Andrea looked over at Daryl noticing his smirk "how the hell do you two know each other?"

Both Daryl and Leah looked over, remembering the blonde woman "Leah this is Andrea" he introduced her "she's part of the group I mentioned".

"Hi Andrea" Leah shot her a charming smile "Daryl and I go way back actually" the smile turning into a knowing smirk. "Our daddies used to run together back in Macon county, used ta be neighbors too, practically raised each other, 'cept for Merle, but he was hardly 'round, always in some kinda trouble that one".

"Well it's always nice to see a familiar face isn't it" Andrea said shooting Daryl an 'I told you it was a good idea look' "suppose you'll be coming back to camp with us then hey? What do you say Daryl?"

He began to walk away from the two women "you two comin' or not? Hurry up I ain't got all night" he muttered gruffly and continued walking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey :) sorry I haven't posted in a while... I planned to do some more around Christmas break but after a ridiculous semester of school I pretty much got nothing done. :P Anyways, I would like to give a shout out to my excellent Beta! Thank you so much for the editing and I'm excited to get more written and posted! As usual, I own nothing except Leah and her story. **

The trek back to the highway where Daryl and Andrea came from was incredibly quiet, which should have been abnormal for any two people who knew each other pre end of the world. But Leah expected no less from Daryl. The situation was quite similar now that she thought about it to her first meeting with Daryl Dixon.

_7 year old Leah Mason was in the passenger seat of her Daddy's beat up old Ford pickup, the windows rolled all the way down as they flew down the back roads of Georgia. Her mama was working a night shift at the diner to support her and her no good father, who was in the mood for another bender with some of the other local men, and thanks to her mama, Leah was forced to go with him. They had already gotten in trouble for Leah being home alone. When they arrived at a shady looking trailer park backed up against the woods, her Daddy slowed down as they neared a dilapidated brown trailer with a rusty truck sitting in the driveway. "Now Leah, I don't want you's buggin' me while I'm wit' muh friends. Stay outta the way gurl"._

"_Yes, Daddy". She replied looking down at her feet. "Good, now I'm sure Bruce mentioned somethin' bout havin' good fer nothin' kids too". When they parked in the driveway, her father was the first one out, hollerin' for Bruce to get his 'ass out here and help with the booze'. The door to the trailer opened and a large, rough looking man stepped out. Leah figured this was Bruce and his booming voice was so much like her daddy's, and that made her nervous. Leah crept out of the truck as quietly as possible and trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible. She walked over to her father and tried hiding behind him, but much to her chagrin, Bruce noticed her. "You brought yer girl? Daryl and Merle are 'round back"._

"_You heard 'im, git lost gurl", he said roughly pushing her forward. Leah looked around uncertainly and walked slowly towards the back of the trailer. She was nervous, she never usually got a chance to play with kids her age, the Masons weren't exactly ones to be associated with. This was no surprise with a drunk and abusive daddy and a usually absent mother. So naturally, it left her quite shy. When she finally rounded the corner she noticed the small shed and entered it. At first she noticed an older boy around 15, working on what looked like a pretty beat up motorcycle. _

"_Daryl, pass me the crescent wrench" she heard the older boy gruff out, and that's when she noticed the other boy who was around her age, crouched over a dented red tool box sifting through various tools. The boy, Daryl stood up and turned around, finally noticing her presence. He handed the older boy the tool and nudged him, drawing his attention to Leah in the doorway. _

"_You the Masons' girl?" Leah nodded. "Thought I heard Pa talkin' bout another poker party, first time he brought you though". Again Leah nodded. "Daryl go, keep her outta my way, tryna fix my bike". This time it was Daryl's turn to nod. He walked out the door and Leah followed him. _

"_So what do you wanna do?" he asked her timidly. _

"_I dunno" she replied kicking up some dirt with her shoe. Daryl looked at her. _

"_Well we could go fer a walk"._

"_Okay!" At this Leah turned around and started heading towards the road when Daryl stopped her._

"_Where ya goin?"_

"_Ya said we's were goin for a walk."_

"_I meant in the woods, you stupid or something? We can't go back by the house, they're all prolly drunk," Then he added shyly "and my pa ain't so good when he's drunk". Leah understood completely, remembering the shoves her daddy would give her and all the yellin' he did when drinking. _

"_Ain't it gonna get dark soon? We're gonna get lost." She said as she made her way back to him._

"_Ya scared er somethin'?" He scoffed at her._

"_I'm not scared!" She shot back, offended._

"_Yes, you are." _

"_No, I'm not."_

"_Prove it." At that Leah marched straight past him and into the thick trees, Daryl following close behind, smirking. After a full five minutes of straight walking, Leah's determination flickered out and she slowed to a stop. _

"_You got any idea where we are?" Daryl asked her._

"_Of course I do." she muttered unconvincingly. Daryl rolled his eyes at her._

"_Ya dumby, you shouldn't walk into the woods and don't pay attention to where ya goin. Merle taught me that. You'll get lost if ya don't"._

"_I'm not a dumby!" She glared at him._

"_Well what else am I 'sposed to call ya? You were bein' dumb anyways."_

"_My names Leah," She said huffing "you can call me Leah"._

"_Well Leah, yer lucky I know where we are". He smirked cockily at her "Come on, I'll show you somethin'". They continued walking but at a much more leisurely pace. Both remained quiet and equally annoyed by the other. Occasionally Leah would trip over a root or stray branch and would bump into Daryl. She was clearly not used to this, 'must be from town' he figured. _

"_Daryl how come yer so good at knowin' where we are?"_

"_I lived out here my whole life, and Merle taught me a thing or two"._

_Daryl looked over at her and she remained quiet for a few seconds before piping up brightly "Ya think you could teach me?"_

"_Prolly could if yer dad brings you 'round more often." He offered. She looked at him and shot him a bright smile. They kept walking in a more comfortable silence until they reached a break in the trees that lead into a small clearing. A pretty little pond sat in the middle surrounded by tall reeds and cattails. _

"_It's so cool!" She exclaimed._

"_I know right?" Daryl said back brightly "Wanna catch frogs with me?"_

"_OK!"_

_They both rolled up their pant legs and slowly waded into the water, looking around carefully trying to spot a frog. It was Leah actually who spotted one first. She whispered "Daryl, look!" He looked over and saw what she was pointing too._

"_You just go real quietly and scoop him up into your hands real quick". She nodded and waded further into the water, wetting the cuffs of her rolled up pants slightly and cupped her hands, leaning forward to try and pick up the small creature. She reached forward at the same time the frog noticed her and letting out a croak, it jumped quickly towards her. Letting out a startled shriek and backing up she lost her footing in the muddy waters, falling backwards into the warm water. Daryl looked at her with wide eyes as she popped back up out of the water looking extremely shocked. That's when Daryl lost it, he doubled over laughing at the soaked girl in front of him. She looked over at him._

"_What's so funny?" She glared as she pushed the offending boy into the water. She giggled when it was his turn to emerge soaked and shocked. That was the precise moment their friendship took off. They spent the next few hours splashing around in the water and catching frogs. They hardly even noticed that it had gotten dark when they emerged from the water. The Georgia night was extremely warm and even though they emerged soaked, they weren't cold. They sat at the edge of the water on a large rock for a few moments to catch their breaths._

"_Should prolly head back soon now." He said._

"_Ya ok." She replied smiling up at him. They slipped their shoes back on and headed back into the dark woods. After a few minutes Daryl let out a frustrated growl._

"_What?" Leah asked him concerned._

"_I uh, well I don't really know where we are" He said quietly. Leah looked horrified. "Don't worry we'll find our way out." He lead her through the woods once more. _

_Two and a half hours later found them dry once again and emerging from the woods, Daryl looking perfectly fine and Leah looking terrified. They were still a ways away from the trailer having emerged from the trees a few feet away from the turn off leading into the trailer park. Leah let out a relieved sigh._

"_Ya know Daryl, even though ya DID get us lost. Will you still teach me about the woods? I mean you did get us un-lost."_

_He looked over at her, thankful she wasn't mad at him for getting them lost. He really did like his new friend. When they finally reached the trailer it was a little after midnight and they wandered back into the shed. Merle sat in the corner cleaning his tools off. _

"_Where ya been Darylina?" He said looking up._

"_Shut up Merle!" He replied grumpily. _

"_Ya get lost again?" He chuckled. Daryl shot him a glare. _

"_Come on Leah, let's go watch a movie."_

"_Best be goin' through the window liddol brother, Pa's drunk again."_

_Both Daryl and Leah gave a little shutter, each reflecting on different memories of their respective drunk fathers._

Leah emerged from her memories as they reached a bar separating the highway from the trees. They clamored over the guard rail and Daryl gripped her upper arm as she lost her footing and almost stumbled. He didn't let go as he continued to lead her over to a small SUV, a man perched on top peering at them curiously from under a silly looking fishing cap.

"Well best introduce you to the group." He muttered.

"Joy." She said sarcastically, hating the attention her presence brought.

Daryl smirked.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so excited for this chapter! It's much, much longer than usual. I was up until 3 am writing it out and putting off the studying I had to do for my midterm the next day ;) Thanks to my excellent Beta, here you go!**

Before this shit show happened, Leah had virtually nobody. And quite honestly, that was A-O-fucking-K with her. She was absolutely fine with nobody but her own damn self to deal with. She was a fucking trip all herself. She worked too damn hard to get to a place in her life where she was fine with the shitty childhood she was dealt. After shit went down with her family, she worked her damn ass off. She paid her way through college. Got a job and her own apartment. Sure it wasn't the greatest apartment and her job was fucking draining. But she had a life, a damn good life too. And thanks to the jackass upstairs (if there was one, she was starting to doubt) with a sick sense of humor, she was thrown through yet another loop. In the form of Daryl fucking Dixon. And then boom, every god damn painful memory of her past trudged its way to the forefront of her mind. Everything that she thought she worked past turned out to just be buried. Just beneath the damn surface.

The crackling of the small fire she sat in front of drew her attention from her internal thoughts to the small group of people staring at her, waiting for her to say something. Perfect.

'_Way to look competent Leah'_ she chastised herself. She cleared her throat and gave a shy smile as her eyes roamed over her audience before darting back to her hands, rubbing them together.

"So Daryl, want to introduce your friend?" Leah looked up to a tall dark haired man and her brows instantly furrowed at his tone. Apparently Daryl felt the same. She watched as he rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze to the other man.

"She's got a mouth Shane, I'm sure she can use it."

Nearby another man tiredly ran his hand down his face and turned to the woman awkwardly.

"I'm Rick, Rick Grimes," he said, offering his hand out to her.

"Leah Mason," she smiled and shook his hand politely. Shaking her head she chuckled. "End of the damn world and I run into one of the most cordial men yet." At that the tension seemed to alleviate and everyone started chuckling.

Still smiling Rick began the introductions. "My wife, Lori" he put his hand on the shoulder of the pretty brunette by his side he gestured to the young boy sitting by Lori's feet. "Carl, my son", the boy smiled up at her and she shot her own back. "You've met Andrea… This is Shane," the dark haired man from earlier gave her a small apologetic smile. "T-dog" he said and she was rewarded with a large grin from the big man as he waved a bandaged arm at her. "That's Glenn over there, a young Asian man gave her a shy smile and a quick "Hello". Lastly he gestured to an older man still wearing that silly fishing hat from earlier, "and that's Dale."

TWD~

Daryl leaned casually against the RV, arms crossed as he watched Leah. A ghost right out of his fukin'past. She looked different from what he remembered. Hell he probably looked different too. Gone was the scrawny teenager he used to sneak beers into the shed with and in her place was a tall, slim woman with a mess of dark blonde hair and tan skin. Her eyes were what were the most different about her. While his had probably always been hard and steely, Leah's, no matter how shitty her life was or how banged up she was from her no good son of a bitch father, had always, always been full of laughter. The girl he remembered covered up everything with a good joke. He noticed during the introductions and her nervous ice-breaker quip about Rick that that fact had not changed. But the thing about her big brown eyes was that they held a faraway, distant look. The change in her was immense. He now looked upon a woman who clearly had resigned herself to her fate. To that he could relate. This was life now, and maybe this is the life they'd been designed for. A life where it was necessary to bury things and move on in order to survive. Hell they'd been doing that since they were little. It was clear neither of them had grown out of it. But he knew for a fact that Daryl Dixon was not gonna let her back into his damn good graces just because they crossed paths again at the end of the fuckin' world. With that final thought Daryl stomped his way by the group around the fire and into the RV.

Daryl's stomp into the RV sobered the laughing group around the fire. With a few "goodnights" here and there everyone began making their way to their respective sleeping places and Leah was left with Rick and Shane.

"We were really only here for a night at the most… But due to some unforeseen circumstances, we seem to be stuck here for a bit longer" Rick started "So naturally we really don't have any true assigned sleeping places, but we do have a look out if you'd like to make yourself comfortable in one of the vehicles…"

"It's fine, honestly… I'll probably be out of your hair tomorrow-"At that Rick cut her off with a serious look.

"No way. Seriously, we can't just let you go back out on your own. It's not safe. We got a good thing goin' here. We might be slightly unorganized, but were family now. We stick together, even Daryl. You are by all means welcome here. Wouldn't hurt to have some extra eyes looking for Sophia either and from what Andrea's been tellin' me you're pretty good in the woods. We could use that." A few moments of silence passed by as Leah thought things through.

"Rick… What I know about this world is the woods aren't the same's they used to be. No place for a little girl. I'd like to help as best I can". At that Rick smiled at her and his hand went to her shoulder.

"Thank you Leah. I really mean that." And with a nod, Rick and Shane walked off leaving Leah to her own devices.

TWD~

Before the sun had even fully risen, Leah abandoned her attempt at sleeping any longer. Too much was going through her mind. She sat up from the backseat of the car she had spent the night in and looked out the window at the few members of the group already up. Daryl being one of them… No surprise there though. With a sigh she climbed out of the vehicle and stretched her cramped muscles and made her way through the mess of vehicles littering the highway. As she reached the group Lori smiled at her and handed her a water bottle. Taking a seat by the fire she nodded in greeting to Dale perched on the RV. Across from her Daryl seemed to be tending to his bolts, for the crossbow leaning against his lawn chair. Funny how after so many years she could still tell when he was stressed by how every once in a while he would raise his thumb to his lips and chew at the skin around his nail. She let out a low chuckle and he looked up and shot her a little glare before looking down again. So very Daryl like it brought a grin to her lips.

"Hey Leah," T-dog said as he made his way to the chair beside her "Daryl," he acknowledged and exchanged a nod with the rough man.

"Not lookin' so good T." He muttered. It was true. The man looked positively weak.

"You bit?" Leah asked wide eyed. She had noticed the bandaged covered arm last night but had never really processed it in the middle of everything.

"Nah, tore it up pretty bad on a busted piece of metal yesterday, bled quite a bit."

Leah turned to him then. "I should have realized earlier. I can probably help you with that. Any longer and you could have run the risk of infection."

At that both men looked up at her shocked. "You a doctor er somethin'?" Daryl asked.

"Nurse actually," She noticed the incredulous looks directed at her. "Just cuz I sound backwoods and know my way 'round a weapon don't mean I ain't educated. Jesus!"

"S'not that but from what I remember you weren't 'xactly nurturin'." He smirked at her then, "I remember a certain incident with a kid by the name a Jimmy Rollins."

"Shit. You remember that?" She laughed then and T-dog looked curious.

"Mind sharin'?" He chuckled. Leah looked over at him remembering he was there suddenly, and a smile lit her face.

"_Hey baby I'm headin' out for my shift at the diner. Your daddies gone for a while, not sure when he's gonna be back" Leah looked up to her mother from her spot in front of her mirror._

"_Yah mama. See ya later". _

"_Alright honey, see ya Daryl" She smiled but it didn't quite reach her worn out eyes and left the room, closing Leah's door behind her. _

"_She means well ya know." Daryl told her from his sprawled out position on her small bed flipping through her collection of tapes._

"_Course she does. She's my mama. Just doesn't know how ta take care of me." She said as she finished putting her long hair into a braid. _

"_Least you got a mama still." Turning around she plopped down beside Daryl shoving his legs aside and almost shoving him completely off the bed in the process. He gave her a playful glare as he adjusted himself on the crowded bed._

"_What're ya getting' all fancied up for anyways girl?" He looked over at her neatly done hair and smirked at the damn earrings in her ears. What the hell?_

"_I got a date tonight Daryl. I told you that. You just don't listen."_

"_Hey! I listen."_

"_Sure ya do." She rolled her eyes and he gave her a playful shove._

"_So who ya goin' out with?"_

"_Jimmy Rollins" She said picking at the almost foreign polish on her nails and looking up at Daryl from the corner of her eyes nervously._

"_The fuck? Rollins? Ain't he like 17?" _

"_Ya, so?"_

"_We're fuckin' 15 Leah. What the hell do ya think a guy like that guy would want from you, huh?" He almost growled at her. "Jesus, Leah what the hell are ya thinkin'?"_

"_I'm thinking that I would like to go on a date Daryl. I've been taking care of myself since I was little. I can take care of myself now too". Daryl frowned at her response and rolled his eyes. A few minutes passed in silence before Leah turned to him again._

"_I'll be ok Daryl, you know me. Hell you and Merle made damn sure I can put up a fight. Besides I really don't think you need to worry."_

"_Fine," He grumbled "you know where to find me if you wind up down shit creek."_

"_Jesus Daryl" she rolled her eyes._

"_Don't even know why I would wanna help a stubborn kid like you."_

"_You're barely older than me!" _

_He smirked at her. "Whatever. You better be ready in the morning though. Were hikin' up to the hunting cabin remember? I got a new bow. Thought we'd go test her out." _

_She smiled up at him as a horn blasted out front. "Alright Daryl. Don't have to be so grumpy. Jeez," and just to push her luck she leaned over and smacked a big kiss on his cheek. "Almost like you like me or something."_

"_Dammit Leah!" He snarled as he wiped his cheek with his shirt sleeve. She grinned over at him before grabbing her jacket and walking out._

"_Lock up after yourself!" She yelled back._

_Three hours later Leah found herself walking home, tears sliding down her face and busted knuckles stinging as she clenched her hands. She let out a frustrated scream as rain began to fall. "Fuckin' perfect' she thought. Luckily she wasn't too far from the run down little house she called home. She angrily changed out of her wet clothes, too upset at her own stupidity to pick them up. Storming into her room she shoved off the pile of tapes Daryl had left on her bed. She began to sob as she realized the extent of her own stupidity. She should have listened to Daryl. She wouldn't have been in this damn situation if she would have just fuckin' listened to him. Similar thoughts flew through her mind as she continued to berate herself, eventually crying herself to sleep. _

_Eight in the morning came too fast for Daryl, but he knew they needed to get a head start on the hike up to the cabin; they still had to stop by the store and pick up a few supplies for the hike. He knocked on Leah's door and waited for her to answer. After a few minutes of nothing he rolled his eyes and let himself in. Wandering to the back of the small house to her bedroom he felt slightly uneasy. When he entered her bedroom he knew why. Her face swollen from clearly crying herself to sleep and her hair a complete rats nest. He rolled his eyes again and sat down beside her on the bed, shaking her gently awake. _

"_Leah?" She stirred "Jesus Leah, the hell happened?" _

_Groggily she pushed herself up. "Times' it?" _

"_Little after eight. You gonna tell me what happened?" He put his arm around her as she leaned her head into his shoulder. _

"_Not really. You can probably guess anyways." She mumbled into his shoulder._

_He let it go as he rubbed her shoulder. "Need me to take care of it?" She shook her head. "Alright. Better clean up were still heading up to the damn cabin". She nodded and stood up, grabbing some clothes out of her dresser and padded her way to the bathroom. Leaving Daryl to run his hands through his hair and bringing his thumb to his lips._

_Half an hour later found Leah and Daryl inside the small convenience store. They were in separate isles each picking out different types of junk food and other various supplies needed for the trip into the woods. Daryl glanced out the window at a tan pick-up outside and did a double take, a smirk lighting up his lips as he realized exactly whose truck that was. Leah watched as his smirk turned into a god damn grin as 17 year old Jimmy Rollins walked to his truck from a shop down the street. The reason behind that fuckin' grin? 17 year old Jimmy damn Rollins. The fucking football player Jimmy fuckin' Rollins was sporting a nice shiner, busted lip and a nice bruised up face. Leah walked over and Daryl grabbed her right hand, staring at the busted knuckles. He let out a loud laugh. _

"_Jesus Christ woman."_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello lovely readers! I have a new chapter and I'm incredibly excited to get it posted for you! It's quite a bit longer than my others. I've decided that I really need to work on my chapter lengths as well, I've felt that they were quite short. So here's a nice long one for you. ;) Also, if anybody saw the new episode last night you will understand how excited I am! I can't wait until next week! It will be interesting to incorporate Leah into the new season too. A lot to look forward to! I also want to thank my beta for editing this story and helping me work out a few kinks so thank you so much! On that note, please review! I love hearing input on the story and any critique is much appreciated! Also, thank you to the many people who have Favorited the story or myself as an author. And thank you to the lovely people who have reviewed as well! :)**

**Usual disclaimers apply.**

Leah sat in silence for a few moments after her story, a small smile lighting up her lips. Eventually her eyes made their way up to Daryl who was looking straight at her, he smirked back and shook his head looking down and continued to tend to his bolts.

"I like her!" T-dog laughed shaking his head as well.

Leah smiled over at him, still grinning. "Have a first aid kit 'round here somewhere?"

"You're probably going to have to ask Dale about that one. He's in charge of rationing our medical supplies."

"Excellent, I'll be right back." She stood up and made her way to the ladder on the back of the RV and climbed up. She climbed up a few rungs and leaned against the roof.

"Dale, right?" The old man turned and looked at her from where he was looking through a pair of binoculars.

"Hey Leah, " he smiled and nodded at her "what can I do for you?"

"Just wonderin' if you had a first aid kit handy" She put her hand up shielding her eyes from the bright sun. "I got a few things in my bag but I'm afraid I'm short on a few minor things like antiseptic. Thought I would get T-Dog all stitched up."

Dale's eyes and smile widened "you know how?"

"Was a nurse before all this happened actually" She grinned at him.

"Just what we need, come on I'll get Glen up here to take watch and I'll go show you where that first aid kit is." She began to climb down and Dale followed suit.

"Hey Glen?" He called to the Asian boy. He looked up from where he was sorting through a few tools at the front of the RV.

"What's up?" He called back.

"Think you could take watch for a few minutes?"

"Ya, sure" he jogged over and began to climb the small ladder.

"Think you could show a couple of us how it's done? You know, just in case?" He asked.

"I don't see why not." She said as he handed her the kit. She rifled through it a bit pulling out a few things and handing it back to him "Alright, this should do it". They walked back outside and Dale beckoned Lori over.

"Leah said she'd teach us how to do a few simple stitches, if you'd be interested? She used to be a nurse and I figured it would be pretty handy just in case."

Soon enough Leah and T-Dog stood crowded between Dale, Andrea, Lori and Carl. The latter of course, being ushered away by his parents. At that Leah inwardly scoffed. In this world innocence will get you nowhere, age don't mean a thing. You can only shelter a kid for so long now before they're forced to grow up too quickly, better to teach them something useful now and pray to god that they will never need it. She might be biased though. She quickly pushed those thoughts away and focused on the task at hand.

"Ready?" She looked up at the people surrounding her and they nodded back. Carefully she peeled back the blood soaked bandage and cringed. "Probably gonna have to see about some antibiotics or something." Picking up the lighter from the supplies spread out on the hood of the car in front of them she sterilized the small needle, it wasn't the best but it would have to do. Next she grabbed the antiseptic wash, "This is gonna hurt" she braced herself and tightened her hold on T-Dog's arm. She doused his arm in the wash and as predicted he hissed and tried jerking his arm away. "So this is pretty gross but you're going to have to agitate the wound a bit to pull out any debris, to reduce the risk of infection." She smiled apologetically at the man again, "Wish I had some kind of numbing agent" the man winced. "So we generally start stitching away from ourselves and we need to go deep enough so as not to tear the wound open again or rip any stitches."

After several minutes and quite a few stitches later Leah wiped away the remaining blood from his arm and reapplied a new bandage. "There you go. You really are gonna need some kind of antibiotics though, not sure how long you'll be able to last without them". The last bit she spoke soft enough so only he would hear. With news like that and being so new to this group she had no idea what the reaction would be and figured it best for T-dog to decide what to tell the others. She looked grimly up at the others who were clearly trying not to at least gag at the site, "It gets easier after a while. Gettin' used to the gore I mean," she chuckled darkly, "not that it doesn't go without saying, we see it every day. You'll get used to it soon enough". With that she walked away.

A half hour later everyone gathered around the hood of the car again looking at the weapons Rick had laid out.

"Now everyone gets a weapon." Rick said.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea requested, propping a hand on her hip.

"We've been over that," Shane interjected "Daryl, Rick and I are carryin'. Can't have people poppin' off rounds every time a tree rustles."

"It's not the trees I'm worried about!"

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, herd happens to be passin' by. See, then its game over for all of us. You need to get over it." Shane swung his pack over his shoulder

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles come back down the other side," Daryl began "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark"

"Stay quiet, stay sharp, keep space between you but always stay in sight of each other. Everybody assemble your packs." He turned around "Dale, you keep on those repairs we gotta get this RV ready to move."

"I don't wanna stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back" Dale replied standing up from his sitting position on the RV.

"Could you keep an eye on Carl while were gone?"

"I'm goin' with you. You need people right? To cover as much ground as possible." Carl quickly interrupted. After a few moments Lori looked to Rick.

"Your call, I can't always be the bad guy."

"Don't mean to interrupt but he has all of us here to watch out for him. Don't think it would be too much of an issue." Leah offered, she ruffled the young kid's hair and looked up at Rick.

"Okay. Okay. But always in our sight, no exceptions." Rick and Lori gave out a small chuckle at the smile that spread across Carl's face.

Leah stood beside Daryl and took a drink out of her bottle of warm water. _Nasty, s_he thought. Both she and Daryl surveyed the group still getting packed up for the trek into the woods. Both of them were drawn to Andrea who made her way to Dale who looked almost panicked.

"Andrea I'm begging you don't put me in this position."

"I'm not going out there without my gun. I'll even say please." Andrea replied flippantly.

"I'm doing this for you!"

"No, Dale you're doing this for you. You need to stop. What do you think? I'm gonna put it in my mouth and pull the trigger the moment you hand it to me?" At that everyone began to watch the scene unfold. Leah's eyes widened and she looked to Daryl for an explanation.

"I know you're angry at me that much is clear but if I hadn't done what I did you'd be dead now."

"Jenner gave us an option and I chose to stay!"

Leah shook her head. "Some people just weren't cut out for this type of surviving". Daryl looked over and nodded and they both shifted their attention back to the scene.

"You chose suicide-"

"So what's that to you? You barely know me!"

"I know that Amy's death devastated you."

"Keep her out of this! This is not about Amy this is about us. And if I decided I had nothing left to live for then who the HELL are you to tell me otherwise? To force my hand like that?"

"I saved your life!"

"No, Dale I saved yours. You forced that on me. I didn't want your blood on my hands and that is the only reason I left that building. What did you expect? That I would have some kind of epiphany? Some kind of life affirming catharsis?"

"Maybe just a little gratitude."

"Gratitude? I wanted to die my way, not torn apart by drooling freaks that was my choice. You took that away from me Dale."

"But-"

"But you know better." She cut him off "All I wanted after my sister died was to get out of this endless horrific nightmare we live every day. I wasn't hurting anyone else. You took my choice away Dale and you expect gratitude?"

"I don't know what to say."

"I'm not your little girl, I'm not your wife and I'm sure as hell not your problem that's all there is to say." Andrea walked away, leaving a devastated looking Dale behind.

Shaking her head at the sight Leah walked away. As much as the blonde irritated her it wasn't her place to intervene. Ten minutes later everyone seemed to have their shit together and they all ventured off into the woods in one big line, weapons at the ready. Figuring it was her best bet Leah stuck close to Daryl and Rick at the front with Lori, Carl and Shane bringing up the rear. The trip was fairly uneventful until Daryl held up his hand and motioned for everyone to hold up. Crouching beside him, they noticed a small camp set up.

"She could be in there. A whole bunch of things could be in there." They slowly ventured forwards and on suggestion from Rick had Carol calling out to Sophia as they quietly made their way to the tent. Daryl opened it and the smell that wafted out was enough to make Leah gag and she dealt with blood and gore on a daily basis as an ER nurse. Daryl crawled into the tent and Leah grimaced. After a few moments the unease became too much and Carol called Daryl's name a few times, becoming increasingly alarmed as he continued to not answer. A few seconds later he crawled out.

"Ain't her"

"What's in there?"

"Some guy did what Jenner said… 'Opted out'. Ain't that what he called it?"

Suddenly church bells started to ring. _Fuckin' church bells_ Leah scoffed. They all rushed forward under the renewed hope that it could possibly be Sophia herself ringing them.

"Can't be it, got no steeple, no bells. Rick!" Shane called.

They approached the doors and lined up on either side, prepared for the worst. They opened the door and inside were a few dead God fearing bastards sitting on the pews. The sight was ironic and horrifying. They ran in the church. Daryl readying himself as Rick took a walker out with a machete to the head. Another was taken out by Shane, a blade through the eye. Daryl made quick work of the 'ugly bitch' as he muttered, with a blow to the head, backing up quickly as she fell forward.

"SOPHIA!" Rick screamed kicking in a door.

"I'm tellin' you it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple Rick. No steeple!"

The bells rang again and they headed outside. Glen noticed it first, tearing apart the wires in the little box.

"It's on a timer".

The hope they all felt was instantly crushed. The helpless look on Carol's face was too much to bear as Leah turned around running a hand down her face.

"I'm goin' back inside" Carol said quietly.

Leah took a moment to gather herself before she managed to make her way inside the church. She quietly made her way to the pew farthest away from the dejected woman sitting at the front. It had been a long damn time since she last set foot into a church. Another thing she never thought she'd be doing again. Leah put her head into her hands and rested her elbows on her knees. Every Sunday her mama would dress her up in her nicest clothes, which wasn't saying much considering any money that came in was likely to be drank or smoked away by her father. Every Sunday her mama would take her to the small little Catholic Church a few blocks away from their house. A few times they had even brought Daryl. They would come a little late and always leave a little early, usually her mama would sit them at the pew furthest back. A little out of shame for their dress and a little out of humiliation because given the small town they lived in it was no secret that the Mason's weren't exactly people to socialize with. But regardless, every damn Sunday her mama would drag her to church. These memories were the fondest ones she had of her mother, her childhood not allowing for many of those happy moments. For a few minutes Leah sat there, head in her hands and allowed herself to reflect on those happy little memories. Ones she tried not to think about before the end of the world as they knew it. The church they sat in now shared little resemblance to the one she grew up with but for a few moments, she was young again sitting beside her mama and things were normal. She had Daryl, and even though she had to deal with her drunk, abusive father, she had her mama. Regardless of how awful her childhood was, she missed her mama a lot. The regret was painful and the irony of her situation even more so. Leave it to the end of the damn world to happen before Leah set foot in a church again. Her list of things that finally took the end of the world to happen kept getting longer and longer. Her internal musings were cut short as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Instantly she tensed up and looked up, prepared for the worst. Rick looked down at her with concern in his eyes. That was when Leah felt the wetness sliding down her cheeks. Standing up and wiping her eyes she nodded at Rick. She closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths, she opened them again and turned around making eye contact with Daryl. Embarrassed by her tears she looked away and left the church.

Eventually everyone made their way outside and it was decided that they would be splitting up. Rick, Shane, Carl would be staying together and the rest of them would be heading back to the highway.

"Here take this." Rick offered his gun to Lori.

"I ain't takin' your gun and leaving you unarmed" Lori refused.

"Here I got a spare, take it" Daryl forced a smaller gun into her hands looking pointedly at Andrea who rolled her eyes and scoffed, storming off. They wandered back towards the tree line, Leah hanging back by Glen who offered her a small smile. She returned it and they continued on, Carol's quiet sniffling and the crunch of the leaves under their feet breaking the silence. Of course though that couldn't last long.

"So this is it?" Carol spoke up as she sat down on an overturned tree and resting "the whole plan?"

"Guess the plan is whittling us down to smaller and smaller groups."

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks" Andrea said pointedly towards Lori, shooting her a glare "I see you have a gun". Leah rolled her eyes and caught Lori's eye seeing the exasperation in hers as well.

"Why you want it?" Lori pulled it out "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're givin' me." Andrea took the gun with an attitude that was drawing Leah even closer to her boiling point. She shifted from foot to foot and Daryl caught her eye and shook his head, warning her to back off. He knew well enough how that would end. Not favorably for Andrea.

"Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through and I'd do anything to stop it, but you have got to stop blaming Rick. It's in your face every time you look at him."

Carol looked up, eyes wide at Lori. " And when Sophia ran he didn't hesitate for a second did he? I doubt any of us would have gone after her the way he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make or that anybody could have done any differently. Anybody?" She made eye contact with everyone, who quickly broke it ashamedly. "Y'all looked at him and you blamed him but he's not perfect if you think you can do this without him go right ahead nobody is stoppin' ya." She took a shaky drink from her bottle.

"We should keep moving." Andrea said handing Lori back the gun. Everyone continued to move on and Leah hung back by Lori and put her hand to her arm giving it a small squeeze and offered her an encouraging smile, before walking off to catch up to the rest of the group. Their few moments of contemplative silence were once again broken by something unexpected. A gunshot. A single gunshot sounded off, and set everyone's heart racing.

"Nothin' to worry 'bout. Say we keep goin'". Daryl muttered. Everyone continued to walk and half an hour went by before it became too much for Lori. She stopped and turned around eyeing the woods around her.

"Still worrying about it?" Andrea asked.

"It was a gunshot!"

"We all heard it" Leah added.

"It was one gunshot. Why would it be just one gunshot"

"Probably just took down a walker."

"You know Rick wouldn't risk bringing down walkers."

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked.

"S'nothing we can do about it anyway can't run around these woods chasin' after them."

"What should we do?"

"Same as we've been, beaten the bush looking around for Sophia, head back to the highway."

"Sure, they'll meet up with us by then" Carol said to herself. They began walking again and Andrea approached Carol trying to offer some comfort.

"I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel."

"I suppose you do thank you. The thought of her out her by herself. Thought of its killing me. I just keep hopin' and prayin' she doesn't wind up like Amy- Oh god, that's the worst thing I ever said." She said rushing to grab Andrea with an apologetic look on her face.

"Were all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth" It took Andrea a moment to collect herself enough to reply even though it was a little forced. Daryl rolled his eyes and stepped towards them.

"I'll tell you what it's worth, not a damn thing. It's a waste a time all this hopin' and prayin' were gonna locate that little girl and she's gonna be just find. Am I the only one Zen around here? Good lord." Leah made eye contact with Lori both women trying to hide their smiles as they faced a shocked Carol and Andrea. Their trek back to the highway continued. Daryl and Leah both looking as hard as possible for any sign, any small track that would lead them in the direction of the little girl. Similar thoughts of similar trips into the woods wracking their brains.

A little over two hours later, they decided to end the search party and head straight back to the highway. Of course things could never just go smoothly. A scream erupted from Andrea. Everyone began to panic as they looked around and she wasn't within eyeshot. Jogging a little further over they saw her. She was putting up a losing battle. One against a walker pinning her to the ground trying to tear her to pieces, a second later and not a second to soon something beating on the ground drew their attention to their right as a women on horseback wielding a baseball bat swung the walker off of Andrea.

"Lori Grimes? Are you Lori Grimes?"

"I'm Lori Grimes!"

"Rick sent me you gotta come now, there's been an accident, Carl's been shot. He still alive but you gotta come now Rick needs you! Just come!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't know this girl! You can't get on that horse!"

"Rick said you got others on the highway? That big traffic snarl? Back track down to Fairview road, two miles down you'll see the mailbox. Names Greene." After that she took off taking Lori with her. Everyone stood awkwardly looking around at the others trying to figure out what just happened. Daryl straightened himself out first when the walker on the ground started snarling and sat up.

"Shut up. " An arrow pierced its head.

Once they finally reached the road they rushed to meet Dale up by the rail separating the highway and the ditch.

"Carl's been shot!" Glen's voice ran out.

"Shot? What do you mean shot?!" came Dales wide eyed response as he helped the man over the bar.

"I don't know Dale I wasn't there. All I know is this chick road up like Zorro on her horse and took Lori."

"You let her?"

"Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's."

"I heard screams was that you?"

"Andrea got attacked by a walker. It was a close call"

"Andrea are you alright?" Dale asked.

She shot Dale a look and slammed the RV door behind her.

Dale quickly approached Leah. "We have a problem. It's T, his infection has gotten worse, his veins are all discolored and he's burning up real bad."

"Shit" She mumbled looking down and brought her fingers to her lips in a thoughtful way. "They gave us directions to their farm. They have to have something there. We have to at least try". Leah and Dale gathered everyone around the front of the RV as Dale explained the situation.

"I won't do it. We can't just leave." Carol said mustering up all her inner fucking strength.

"Carol the group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale argued with her.

"What if she comes back and we're not here? Could happen."

"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone that would be awful" Andrea added rather unhelpfully.

"Ok we gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow mornings soon enough to pull up stakes give us a chance to rig a big sign. I'll hold here tonight. Stay with the RV" Leah looked up slightly surprised at Daryl's offer.

"If the RV is staying I am too" Dale said with finality.

"Thank you, thank you both:" Daryl nodded in understanding at the lost woman.

"I'm in." Andrea said meeting the stares of the people around her.

"Well if you're all staying them I'm-" Glen began.

"Not you Glen, you're going. You can take Carol's Cherokee"

"Me? Why is it always me?"

"We have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on."

"But most important you have to get T-dog there." Leah spoke up "this is not an option his cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a serious blood infection. Get him there and see if they have any antibiotics 'cause if we don't T-dog will die. No joke."

Daryl made his way over to his motorcycle and rooted through the bag strapped to the side. "Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why'd you wait so long to say anything? Got my brothers stash. Crystal, X, don't need that. Some kickass painkillers. Doxycycline not the generic stuff neither." He saw the confused stares and explained "Merle got the clap on occasion".

Daryl handed Leah the small bottle and she ran her thumb over the label that read 'Merle Dixon'.

"You know, out of all things, I didn't even ask about Merle." She looked up at Daryl who was avoiding her gaze. That action told her everything she needed to know for the moment. "I'm sorry."

"Go on. Go give those to T and quit yer yappin'." She gave him a small smile and turned around heading off to where T-Dog was huddled under a blanket at the back of the RV.

Later that night as the others left, Leah sat around the small fire with Carol eating some squirrel Daryl managed to procure and some canned beans. _Meal of fucking champions_ she thought to herself. Admittedly she used to eat this all the time when she and Daryl needed to escape and would take off into the woods and just be kids. Though it was a lot more exciting back when you didn't actually HAVE to eat the stuff. She looked over to Daryl and watched as he climbed the roof to presumably relieve Dale from his watch, but he never came down. Eventually, after some small talk Carol made her way into the RV to bed and Leah made her way to the roof. As she reached the top the men on top turned and looked at her before turning back around looking out at the darkened highway. She made her way over by Daryl and sat down. She pulled her knees up to her chest and stared into the seemingly peaceful night. After a few moments she felt the unmistakable feel of someone watching her. She looked over and saw Daryl looking at her and gave him a sad smile as he broke eye contact.

"I'm probably gonna head down now, get some rest. You two good up here?" Dale asked.

"Just fine" Leah replied from her sitting position.

Once Dale left Leah reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a slim box. Daryl looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"Cigarette?" Leah offered. Daryl accepted the smoke she held out and she lit her own and passed the blue plastic lighter over to him and they both inhaled deeply.

"God feels like I haven't had a smoke in forever." Daryl muttered.

"Guess it's just not really a priority anymore once the dead starts walkin' huh?" She smirked. He smirked back and gave a small shake of his head. "Long fucking day" Leah took another drag of the cigarette and sighed.

"What happened to Merle, Daryl?" Her voice broke the comfortable silence. "I should have known that bike was his. Hell, he spent what? Two years getting it in working order. Besides the Juvy stints and all."

"We uh, we drove up. Got stuck up on the highway trying to get into Atlanta. Good fuckin' thing too, once they started dropping napalm down onto the city nobody would have stood much of a chance. We made it down to a little quarry just off the highway a bit. Met up with some people and set up camp. Didn't go so well, you know Merle was just Merle. I left on a huntin' trip, thought I'd track me a deer. Got back and found out Merle had offered to go onto a supply run into the city. 'Food and shit' apparently. You know Merle though, just needed a fix." Daryl took a long drag. "Group that went in to the city met up with Rick there, didn't realize 'til they got back that his fuckin' family that he went through hell and back for was here all along. Anyways, guess Merle went a little crazy. High out of his fuckin' mind probably. Rick handcuffed him to a pipe on the roof. Shit went down and he got left behind."

"Fuck" Leah breathed running a hand through her tangled hair.

"Went back for him though. All we found was his hand. Sum'bitch found a saw. Too rusty to cut through the metal, so he cut his hand off. Managed to take down a couple a' walkers and cauterize his hand" he looked over at her "He's still alive Leah, he ain't dead."

"He always did say nobody could kill Merle but Merle." She chuckled.

"What about you, huh?" He asked "How'd you make it all the way out here?"

"Was workin' in the ER night shit went bad. Got the hell out of there once people started tearing into other fuckin' people. Got outside and shit was just as bad. Headed to my apartment packed the essentials and took off. Drove my truck for a while, until I got a flat, got out to change it and got chased off by a few biters. Made my way back after a few days and my truck was fuckin' gone. Figured I'd be better on foot anyways." She finished her cigarette and flicked it to the ground beneath them. "So I heard you guys made it to the CDC?"

"Yeah, biggest piece of shit plan to date." Leah raised her brow "Got there and found out there's no cure. Not surprising. Everyone lost hope. Found out the whole place was rigged to blow. Crazy bastard of a scientist, Jenner, wouldn't let us out. He chose to 'opt out' 'long with one of our own and Andrea tried but you saw how that worked out."

"So that's it then?" She asked, running a hand down her face. "No hope? No cure?"

"Not a damn thing."

"Fuckin' perfect." She grimaced. Daryl looked over and mirrored her grimace with his own.

"Don't mean nothin'. You know that. Could be all sorts of people trying to find a cure or some shit."

"Do you ever think that maybe this was supposed to happen?" Daryl looked over at her again, confusion etching his face. She continued "Hell, we were raised to survive on our own. In some twisted way maybe this is what we were prepared for. Those other people, they were sittin' pretty mosta their lives, those people they're the first ones to lose whatever sort of humanity they had. This world will harden them Daryl, we were raised ta be hard. Maybe they needed us Daryl. Maybe we needed each other."

"You mean like fate?" he scoffed. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes "fuck woman d'you know nothin'? No such thing as fate. I make my own choices, dammit. I don't need nobody. You know that. You didn't and still don't need nobody either". Leah looked away from him and out to the night sky, hurt by his proclamation. She sat there beside him thinking for a few minutes, with one last puff on her cigarette she put it out and made her way to the ladder, climbing over it.

"You're wrong" she said suddenly, he looked over at her. "I did need somebody. I was seventeen and scared Daryl. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. I know it don't mean much and it probably don't change a thing, but I am." With that she began her descent down the ladder, leaving a bewildered and slightly pissed off Daryl to his own thoughts.

**P.S These little moments of foreshadowing are ridiculously exciting to me!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello friends! So this chapter is a little short. My only excuse being that I was sick, and I tend to do very little when sick ;). I'm excited because there's a little insight into Carol's role in the story! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapters! I appreciate all of you very much, and love hearing from you!I hope to get more out soon. I wanted to thank my Beta for being awesome as always! **

**I don't own The Walking Dead, as much as I wish I did. :(**

**Enjoy, and please review!**

The next morning saw the remaining crew packing up the small camp they had made for themselves on the highway. It of course didn't take long, when your life consists of always moving you never have much to pack up. Using some window markers Dale managed to scrounge up from the RV, Leah rigged up a nice sign on the window of a classic beige Mustang and Carol neatly arranged some food and drinks in case Sophia made her way back to the highway. _God willing_ Leah thought looking up at the clear Georgia sky. Leaning against the hood of a car they already drained of gas, she assessed the remainder of the group around her. Dale was on the roof, ever vigilant. Carol stood looking forlornly at the sign, out of everyone; Leah worried the most about this woman. While theoretically, it should have been Carl she had been worried about, Leah couldn't help it. Carl's problems and T-dogs problems, those were tangible, real issues. Things that could possibly be fixed with enough care and adequate medical attention. Carol's problems were the sort that never fixed themselves, never sorted themselves out in time. Surface scars were one thing, they could be covered up or they could be celebrated. These scars Carol carried; Leah knew the most about, the kind that rooted itself in the very core of your soul, the kind of scars that held you back and made you question everything about yourself, that made you feel so awful that it made it so easy to just give up. Yeah, you could say Leah knew loss well.

"Alright, I think we better head out now, no use standing around any longer." Dale said climbing down the ladder. Andrea made her way into the RV, clearly still upset with the older man. And Daryl, well Daryl was still pissed at her from their talk last night. Leah felt mixed emotions about their conversations, on one hand she felt entirely stupid spoutin' that shit about _fate _as Daryl called it. On the other hand however, she felt a heavy weight leave her shoulders for the apology she made. She felt better about it, it was far from over, but she felt marginally better about the mistakes she made. She watched as he made his way over to his bike and rifled through the saddlebags hanging off the side, avoiding contact with anybody today and practically growling at them when they came close. Leah let out a sigh and walked over to Carol and lightly gripped the older woman's arm, bringing the woman out of her own stupor. She smiled at her and nodded her head towards the RV. Once she had Carol settled in the RV Dale asked if she would drive the green Hyundai Shane had claimed for himself out to wherever it was they were going. Agreeing she turned the car around and soon they were on the road. For a good half an hour she drove sandwiched behind Daryl and in front of Dale. It was peaceful driving with the window down in the sweltering Georgia heat. For a while she looked at the fields surrounding them, untouched as if the end of the world never fuckin' happened. Her attention was eventually drawn back to the man riding the Triumph motorcycle in front of her and her conversation about fate was brought to her mind again. Her face flushed with embarrassment even though no one was around. She had no idea what she was thinking when she brought that up. Daryl, and even Merle on occasion used to tell her that she "didn't know when ta' shut up".

TWD~~

After the conversation on the roof, Daryl was too high-strung to even think about sleeping, and

his watch shift lasted all night. When morning rolled around, he was mighty pissed off, the lack of sleep and left over irritation coupling for a deadly combination. It was a bit much he admitted to himself that when Carol came to him, offering him a can of warmed beans and he snapped at her, leaving the food in her hands, eyes wide and fearful. He definitely felt guilty about that one. Everyone steered clear of him after that, although he did look up a few times at Leah before catching himself then he'd scowl or spit and get back to the task at hand. His own lack of control when it came to that woman adding to his irritation. When all was said and done, or packed up to go rather, it was a relief to get on the bike and go.

The fields that flew past him in a green blur seemed quiet and serene, effectively calming him down. Daryl relished these moments, they were fairly rare. These small moments where his mind cleared and he focused on the here, the now, the wind whipping past his face blowing hair into his eyes. Somewhere in the back of his mind it registered he needed a trim but that didn't matter, he was at peace. He forgot the 'coulda, woulda, shoulda's' and let himself melt into the surroundings. It was moments where he forgot to think and just was that he was the happiest. "Always wound too tight" was how Leah used to describe it.

TWD~

The moment of peace in their even crazier lives eventually drew to a close as the convoy finally hit the mailbox named 'Greene'. Turning into the drive they marveled at the paradise surrounding them. The fences, the woods, the farm house, the abundance of fresh food, it was like heaven. The feelings of wonder were eventually clouded over by the dread and worry that was never short lived. Parking the Hyundai and hopping out Leah made her way up the stairs to where Shane was waiting for them on the porch with the horse girl from earlier.

"Carl? How's he doin'?"

"He's fine" He ran his hand down his face tiredly and adjusted his stance "He's gonna be just fine."

"Oh thank God." breathed Carol as she joined them on the porch. When Daryl neared the porch, Shane stood a little straighter and nodded at the man.

"I'm just gonna go lie down or som'thin" He muttered turning back into the house, his limp and shaved head not going unnoticed.

The young woman turned smiling at the group. "Name's Maggie by the way" she offered her hand.

Leah was the first to reply, being the only one neither too lost in grief or terribly asocial. "Leah, and this is Carol, Daryl, and that's Dale over there by the RV" She reached for the outstretched hand and gave it a shake.

"By the looks of it that boy in there's gonna need some time to heal. You're welcome to set up camp in the yard if you'd like, we'd offer the house but it's a little full." She smiled at the woman in front of her "I wouldn't go in just yet, everyone's a little off kilter with the boy hurt, and one of our men was lost when your man Shane and him went into town for medical supplies. I'd give it a little time. Go on ahead and set up camp, I'll fix up somethin' for y'all to eat." Leah nodded at her, and Maggie turned back into the house.

The trio made their way back to the RV where Dale was as usual perched on. It was a bit laughable with the umbrella and lawn chair set up he had going on. Leah smirked at Daryl who in turn looked away; she felt the heat rise on her cheeks again. Yeah, he'd definitely be avoiding her for a while.

With the eventual help of Glenn and T-dog, the process of setting up camp took no time at all. Carol managed to find an extra tent and offered it to Leah with a small "thank you, for helping us". For that, Leah was very grateful. Dale was the first to notice Rick making his way towards them, Lori following suit.

"How's Carl?"

"He'll pull through." Lori, clearly exhausted smiled at the group. They all let out a collective sigh of relief and Carol pulled Lori into a hug.

"Hershel and his people, well they're gonna have a ceremony for Otis, the man they lost on a supply run for Carl." Rick took his hat off and turned it between his fingers, "It would be really appreciated if we could all go, it'll just be up by the house in about fifteen minutes. And uh, Leah? Can we talk to you for a minute?" She looked up surprised.

"Yeah, of course." She followed the pair back over to the farmhouse where they met an older gentleman. Daryl's eyes following their progress to the house.

"Hershel, this is Leah. She uh, well she has some medical training." He looked over to the younger woman, "I figured, if she'd be willing of course if she could maybe help you in anyway with Carl?"

"Of course I'll help," She piped up; turning to Hershel she explained "I was a nurse." The old man nodded.

"It would be helpful to have an extra hand. Especially one that has human medical knowledge, I was a veterinarian, you see."

Leah nodded and Herschel beckoned her into the house, before she could follow though Lori had her in a hug "Thank you so much you know." She pried herself out of the woman's vice grip and smiled at her before joining the older man in the house.

Leah entered Carl's room and swallowed thickly at the sight of Carl in the bed, sickly pale. "Fever's gone down, not much we can do but wait and change his bandage's, make sure there's no infection. I figured you'd be more than helpful in looking for the signs of infection, my specialty was animals."

"I can definitely do that"

"I put the medication and fresh bandages in the cupboard over here." He gestured to the shelves by the door. She nodded at him and took a seat by Carl's bedside. Hershel looked at her curiously.

"You been with these people long?" He asked

She smiled up at him "Not at all. Few days. Daryl and Andrea found me holed up in a tree."

"The rougher fellow?" She chuckled.

"One and the same" she added "I actually knew him before all of this. We grew up together; I was just as rough as him back then." She let out another chuckle.

Hershel looked at her knowingly and nodded his head. "Life has a funny way of working out it seems. The worst possible situations can sometimes bring the greatest of joys. Trouble is finding that joy. Those people you're with, they seem lost." Leah nodded back at him and turned to the boy on the bed.

"I can understand why." She added forlornly.

"That's why I'm hoping you'd be the best state of mind to understand." She looked up a little confused. "You're people can't get too comfortable." He looked at her pointedly.

"You don't mean-"

"I do."

"With all due respect sir, you have no idea what it's like out there. Times like these, we need to stick together. There's nothing left out there. Nobody's left." She looked at him hopelessly. "Before they found me, I was almost gone. It's a death sentence out there."

He looked at her sadly before turning and walking outside, dread pooled heavily in her stomach. With one last glance at the poor boy in the bed, she left to rejoin her group.

Outside, everyone was gathered under a small collection of trees in front of a large rock pile in dedication to Otis. During Hershel's eulogy, Leah couldn't help but stare at him stonily. Daryl with his arms crossed looked at her curiously, his eyebrows furrowing. It didn't go unnoticed by Rick either. Despite the anger welling inside of her, Leah felt awful when Patricia begged Shane to share Otis' last moments. Noticing his hesitation Leah reached an arm out and squeezed his arm gently, giving him an encouraging, but sad smile. Finally he limped towards the pile of rocks, delivering his recollection of Otis' heroics. There was a slight tone to Shane's story that had the ever watchful Dale paying close attention to the younger man as he stared hard into Patricia's heartbroken eyes.

"If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have gotten out alive" The words rang out truer than true and the group of survivors felt a collective shiver when a feeling of unease settled over them all. When the end of the ceremony came and the Greene's departed from the rock pile, the small group remained rooted to the ground, unsure of what was to come next, the unease refusing to dissipate as it hung over their heads like a hangman's noose.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello dear readers and reviewers! :) It's been a while again but I have a lovely (hopefully) new chapter for you. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to my excellent Beta, thank you for helping me make this story 10 times better! Don't forget to review, I love hearing from everyone. 3! Anyways, onto the story.**

**I don't own anything except my OC... Sadly :(**

Leah was among the last of the group to wander away, her own internal turmoil keeping her rooted into place. The stress began to build within her, making her sick to her stomach. The heavy weight of Hershel's plans settling on her already tired shoulders, knowing she should tell somebody was making it even worse. Who could she tell? Rick was the obvious choice, but he had too much to worry about as it was. Daryl was out; he was still avoiding her as much as possible. The women were clearly not interested in the decision making.

She was so deep in thought that she nearly jumped out of her skin when a cough brought her back to the real world. She looked up to find Shane watching her.

"You ok Leah?"

"I could say the same." She forced smile at him and nodded her head towards his hurt leg. He let out a bit of a chuckle.

"Ya, I'll be alright."

"Want me to check on it?" She gave him a bit of a pointed look and they wandered off from the eyes of those still hanging around.

"So what's really going on?" He asked as they settled down on a wooden picnic table and Shane took off his shoe, allowing her to examine the ankle.

"Swelling's seemed to have gone down quite a bit." He looked up at her "But you already knew that." She added nervously. She sat down beside him and put her head in her hands and sighed heavily.

"'S Hershel. Soon as Carl's better, he wants us to leave"

Shane's mouth firmed into a hard line before he spoke."Guess I coulda figured that one out."

"I just couldn't tell Rick. He's got enough to worry about right now."

He rested a hand on her forearm "Rick'll figure it out, we were heading to Fort Benning before we lost Sophia. That plan still stands." He patted her arm and made to stand up "Don't worry too much about it Leah, I'll talk to Rick."

"Thank you Shane," He was already a few steps away when she added "and if you ever want to talk, you know, about what happened, I'm here"

Shane stiffened but didn't turn around, a moment of shared understanding passed between the two and he walked away.

Leah wasn't really all too sure of why she told Shane. Hell she wasn't all too sure why she let him know that she knew something was up. She wasn't stupid, the holes in his story resembled craters. Dale knew too she figured by the look he passed her during the funeral. It was fairly obvious to notice if you weren't distracted, as most of them were by grief or fear. She didn't hold it against Shane. Being on her own for so long, she had seen a few things and done a few things she wasn't terribly proud of. It was a whole new world now; it was survival of the fittest. That didn't make her hard and that didn't make her any less guilty, but nevertheless it was the truth. These people, they would understand soon enough that certain sacrifices must be made for the safety of them all. She just hoped it would be realized in time.

TWD~

Later saw the group huddled around a map Maggie had brought forth. A plan was formulated to further the search for Sophia, and Maggie volunteered a supply run into the small town. Hershel was a little skeptical at first of his daughter heading out on her own but she assured him it was alright. Glen was eventually volunteered to go with her. Leah was a little put out that she was asked to stay behind on the search because of her medical knowledge. Her heart ached for the little girl. She looked up through her eyelashes at Daryl and noticing her gaze he stared back. A nod and a gentle understanding passed between the two. It had always been easy for the two to communicate through little more than a glance, their skills honed through their younger years where noise brought you unwanted attention. He knew she was asking him to not only be safe, but to do his best in the search. Daryl's heart beat a little faster in that moment.

TWD~

Daryl set off towards the woods on his own, looking forward to escaping the stress of the group and settling back into his element. The sun filtered down through the trees as he made his way to an abandoned farmhouse that he had been designated to search. On the way he managed to catch the trail of a few deer, wishing he was hunting anything other than a lost little girl. The peace the forest usually offered him was bittersweet on this day. The dilapidated farmhouse eventually appeared in sight and Daryl entered the yard, bow at the ready. His cautious approach to the door seemed horribly slow and his nerves were on edge as he dreaded what he might find on the inside. He let out a relieved sigh as he cleared the house, deeming it empty. That relieved sigh turned back into tension as his eyes fell upon a blanket peeking out of a pantry door. He once again approached it cautiously and opened the door, bow drawn again. Relief flooded through him again, not only because it was walker free but because it was obvious a very small person had bunked there for the night, a pillow was tucked in the corner. His sharp senses detected a fishy odor and his attention was drawn to the trash bin where a freshly opened and eaten can of sardines rested haphazardly on top. It wasn't much, but it was progress. It was something to bring back to Carol… and to Leah. He shook his head at the last bit. It had been years, many broken years since she had left. He was unsure why her opinion even mattered at this point. Merle'd call him a pussy if he were here.

After checking the house some more for any signs of the little girl he made his way out the back door.

"SOPHIA!" He cried in case she was close to the farmhouse. He stumbled around a little, bothered by the lack of response, until his eye caught something familiar in the bushes. A single white flower clung to a green stem, surrounded by thick weeds and tall grass. He walked over to it and his heart pounded as he took in every detail of the beautiful flower, a memory rushing back to him so fast it knocked him to the ground.

_Daryl and Leah ran out of the church, laughing as they raced to Leah's mothers old Rambler that had seen better days._

"_Leah Mason, don't you dare get your church clothes all dirty!" Her mama shouted from the steps of the church._

_Leah rolled her eyes and giggled as she opened the door to the car and climbed in, Daryl right after her. Her mama smiled sadly at her daughter. She loved her, she really did and she was always so guilty of the life she was subjecting her daughter to. It was her who Leah got her worldviews from. Leah's mama no matter what, never lost faith and could always see the good in a bad situation. This was partly why her mama stayed with her daddy, in Caroline Mason's eyes, a child needed a father. Growing up without her own, Caroline believed it was necessary, no matter what. Like Caroline, Leah always was able to manage a smile in the roughest of times. The ride to the Mason's house was enjoyable with all three singing along to the radio and laughing. The laughing was cut short though, as Caroline pulled up to the small house and parked her car on the street, an old Ford pickup blocking the driveway. _

_The hairs on Caroline's neck stood up. Her husband wasn't usually home on Sunday's; his job usually included these shifts. She shut off the car and glanced at the children laughing in the back seat. She opened the door and stepped out, the children followed. Leah's laughs abruptly ended as she too noticed the truck in the driveway. Daryl pulled her behind him and glanced up at Caroline and they followed her to the front porch. They stood behind her as she opened the door, a crash could be heard from the kitchen and Caroline waved her hand frantically signaling for Leah and Daryl to wait around the back. These signals were well received as this wasn't a rare occurrence for her mama to send her off when her daddy was in a mood. Caroline cautiously entered the house as the children snuck to the back._

_In the backyard, Leah clung to Daryl's side, eyes wide. It had been a good five minutes before the shouting started and crashes began. She huddled closer to him as her mother cried out. It wasn't hard to hear what her father was going off about. He had been fired from his job, his third in eight months. He had apparently just started into the booze that had already ended his job, causing him to lash out at his meek wife. His anger pouring out in a violent fit. Daryl pulled Leah in closer as he led her back around the house and they snuck off, unwilling to stick around as targets._

_The two children lounged in a small clearing in the forest, the sun beating down on them, warming their somber moods. A small white flower caught Leah's eye and she bounced up from the ground and sat down near the flower, Daryl followed her, curiosity roused by her sudden outburst._

"_It sure is pretty." he said as he reached out and brushed a petal._

"_Do you know what kinda flower it is Daryl?" She beamed at him. He shook his head "'S a Cherokee rose."_

_She plucked the flower from its stem and passed it over to him. _

"_Mama tol' me that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were sad and cryin' so much 'cause they were losing their babies 'long the way. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to lift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. Next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell"._

"_How do you know that?" He asked her, twirling the rose in his fingers._

"_Mama said we's part Cherokee, not much but 'nuff for her to know the story". He nodded in understanding._

"_Daryl?" He looked up at her serious voice "D'you think this one's for us?"_

"_Whaddya mean Leah?"_

"_You think our mama's tears made this one grow for us? That our daddies made them sad for us?" He was silent for a few minutes as he touched the soft petals again._

"_Maybe" he replied as he handed her the rose. She smiled at him and stuck it behind her ear._

Daryl plucked the rose and twirled it around in his fingers. He slowly made his way back to the farm. Back to Carol, and back to Leah.


End file.
